Livelihood lost sans Mankayam waterfalls near Thiruvananthapuram

More than 100 families benefitting from Mankayam are out of jobs as the waterfall remained closed for 10 months.
The scenic Mankayam waterfalls in Thiruvananthapuram
The scenic Mankayam waterfalls in Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The waterfalls at Mankayam provides a livelihood to a number of people living in the area. However, as tourism remains at a standstill at the waterfalls for the past 10 months, those involved in related activities are in dire straits.

Over 100 families who used to benefit from ecotourism and related activities have now lost their livelihood. One of those affected is Shibu Mankayam, who has been working as a guard for 13 years. “My six-member family includes my parents, who are both over 70. I have to take care of their medical expenses and look after my children’s education. I am forced to find another job,” he says. While he used to engage in rubber tapping in a nearby estate, that has stopped since the rain.

After the death of a tourist in October 2018, Mankayam waterfalls was closed to the public. According to Shibu, an action council was formed under ward councillor Kunjumon KJ after the incident. “They began interfering in tourism activities. They wanted the VSS members at Idinjar to be part of the activities here. Already, members of the Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS) unit here, which has been running for the past 13 years, don’t have enough jobs. Thus it will not be feasible to include the members of Idinjar. This is our only means of livelihood. A few of us go for estate jobs. But as the production is less, there is no regular income,” says Shibu.

An official with the Forest Department says a dispute soon arose between members of VSS and a few locals. “We were forced to close the tourism here because of threats of anti-socials,” said the official on terms of anonymity.

Meanwhile, Idinjar ward member Kunjumon said, “The benefit of the eco-tourism is enjoyed by the residents of Mankayam alone and not by those in Idinjar. The issued can be solved only when the VSS units in Idinjar and Mankayam are dissolved into a single entity. A meeting will be organised soon with the district forest officer, MLA, range officer and representatives of VSS.”

As many as 47 members of VSS had benefitted from the ecotourism activities while working as a trekking guide, guard and counter jobs. “After the mishap, five of the VSS members were given training in swimming, but the authorities haven’t been able to open it to the public, especially after the clashes,” says Shalini S, who used to work at the ticket counter on a daily wage of Rs 400.

The sources from the Forest Department said, “The meeting to solve the issue has been taken up to the minister and is expected to be solved soon.” Mankayam is the favourite spot for both nature-loving and adventure-loving tourists. Besides the beautiful waterfalls, people get to take a diverse range of trekking.

According to sources as much as Rs 4.5 lakh is generated from the eco-tourism activities here every year. During vacation, the department incurs a revenue of over a Rs 50,000 per month.

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